Sea of Red
by BehindTheWallOfSleep
Summary: Essentially, the aftermath of Chrono Trigger with Crono, Marle, and Lucca. The story will contain elements of the fall, and rebuilding, of the Kingdom of Guardia with some references to Chrono Cross as well. I originally thought about making this story a crossover of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, but in my notes, it is more of a Chrono Trigger story than Chrono Cross story.


**Author's Note**: I have always been a fan of _Chrono Trigger_, but not so much _Chrono Cross_—too many characters. When I decided to write this story, I thought about making it a crossover between _Chrono Trigger_ and _Chrono Cross_. However, since this story seems to reflect more of _Chrono Trigger_, that is where I decided to place it. In my notes, though, a possible sequel could be created, which would combine the two.

I have to mention that it has been a while since I have played these games, so errors may occur. Also, with the research I have done, I have noticed some additions to the games—one being the Nintendo DS. Some of those changes will have to be ignored, for the sake of trying to bring _Chrono Cross _later into the story. Still, I hope to produce a great story, which, after all, is why we write these things.

**Sea of Red**

**Chapter I**

At twilight, The Epoch landed just outside the City of Truce. Departing The Epoch were the spiky red-haired and green-eyed, Crono Ellsworth; the blonde-haired and blue-eyed, Princess Nadia 'Marle' of Guardia; and the dark-haired and dark-eyed, Lucca Ashtear. Also departing The Epoch was Crono's mother, Gina. It was nearly one day after the Millennial Fair's Moonlight Parade.

"Well, Mother," Crono began with a smirk, "I guess you can see a little bit of what we've been doing."

"An interesting trip through time, Mrs. Ellsworth," said Lucca.

"Yep!" added Marle. "And we only had to go back 20 years into the past, which is nothing for us."

Gina, with her blonde hair showing a few specks of gray, returned the smirk to her son and his companions. "You caught me just in the nick of time. I wish that I could have found him, and have given him a swift kick in the balls."

"Him?" asked Crono.

"Your father."

Gina turned to the red-blue sky and added, "But, in any case, none of this would have happed, if you would have stayed home, and fed the cat."

Crono chuckled. "Yes, Mother."

Gina maintained her smirk. "Do enjoy the rest of your evening, Crono. I need to get home."

When his mother left the party, Crono turned to his time-travelling team. "It's a good thing that we stopped her."

"Huh?" said Lucca.

"If she would have kicked my dad in the balls, what are the chances that I never would have been born?" Crono paused to look at the sky. "Then what would have happened to me?"

"You know what would have happened," Marle began, as she approached him. "The same thing happened to me, when people thought that I was my ancestor, Queen Leene."

"What they call the Grandfather, or, in this case, Grandmother Paradox," Lucca said, while she adjusted her spectacles.

"You saw me scream. You saw me disappear…it felt as though my body was being torn apart." Marle placed a hand on his chest. "You don't want that."

"Crono," began Lucca, "I have never really asked you this, because I was always given the impression 'not to say anything.' But, what did happen to your father? I can remember him very briefly, when we were kids."

"I didn't learn until years later, but, simply put, he cheated on my mom. Supposedly, he ran off to El Nido, or so I've been told…I don't really think much of him. I doubt that I would even address him as 'Dad,' if I saw him. I would probably say, 'Wazuki, why did you do what you did?'"

Marle displayed a look of sympathy.

Lucca turned to the earth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that."

"Na, it's okay," Crono said with a smile.

But then Crono turned to the city—particularly, Leene's Square. "What really sucks about all this though is that we missed the Moonlight Parade. We missed the last day of the Millennial Fair!"

Marle placed a hand over her mouth and chuckled. "Oh, it's no big deal, you know. But I will admit that I never got a chance to look at Nadia's Bell."

"Yes, the bell named after you."

"That's right."

Crono smiled. "Well, why don't we go look at it now?"

"YaY!"

Crono chuckled. "It's a date."

_"Yes, a 'date,'"_ thought Lucca, sadly.

* * *

With the last rays of the Sun fading, Lucca sat on a tree stump outside her home. She watched as Crono and Marle walked across the bridge back into Truce's mainland. She sighed at how close Crono and Marle had grown on their journey.

Not that Lucca was jealous, per say. She had known Crono since they were children, and she truly considered him a friend and nothing more. But as the two grew older, she found that while the girls would gravitate toward Crono, the same was not true with her and the boys.

Both her parents told her how beautiful she was. But she was terribly farsighted, which resulted in her wearing large thick glasses. Kids teased her, but Crono always defended her.

As she grew older, the teasing became less and less; yet, some elements of it still remained. Even at the Millennial Fair, Lucca overheard comments of 'I bet you could see the backside of the Moon with glasses like that.' Sometimes she laughed it off. But, at other times, it hurt.

Lucca turned to the sky. Stars began to sparkle. "We saved the future. But what future will it truly be like?"

* * *

Under a sparkling sky, Crono and Marle approached Guardia Castle. The two held hands, but the guards did not seem to mind—a few even smiled.

"Well, Miss Guardia, I walked you home."

Marle smiled. "Will you not come in, Master Ellsworth?"

Crono returned the smile. "I will." But then his face turned serious. "I would, however, like to speak to your father."

"Myy father?!"

Crono nodded.

"What for?"

"I'll make sure to tell you later." But in his thoughts, he added, _"Now, I just hope that it goes well."_

* * *

Marle tried to listen in on the conversation that Crono was having with her father. But the heavy oak doors and walls of stone made such a plan impossible.

Becoming bored, Marle decided to visit the castle's Hall of Justice. Here, Marle had saved her father from the false chancellor by crashing through the recently repaired stained glass image of the Master of Justice. And here, she had also argued in defense of Crono.

With the absence of unnatural light, the Hall of Justice was a dim room—the only source of natural light came through the stained glass image of Master Justice. Therefore, Marle kept the entrance door open. "Interesting that you would come here."

Marle gasped. The voice was Crono's, but he appeared like a silhouette. Nevertheless, she smiled. "When I was a child, I often came to this place, if no trial was taking place."

"Why?" Crono asked, while he approached her. His features were beginning to take shape, as he stood within the moonlight from the stained glass image.

"It's peaceful, in a way. When I was a child, I used to play hide-and-seek with my friends. This room was a great place to hide…Also, it was a great place to discuss what spirits we wanted to try and see in the castle."

"Spirits to try and see?"

Marle nodded. "The place is supposedly haunted; it's an old building. I've never seen anything, but I have heard things."

Crono observed his surroundings. "I could see this room as being haunted."

"Huh?"

"Think about it, that false chancellor. He wrongly sentenced people to death. Couldn't you see those people's souls haunting this place?"

For a moment, Marle was silent. "I could for a while, but we avenged them." "Huh?"

Marle smiled. "We slayed that false chancellor."

Crono chuckled. "Yeah, we did."

"Crono?"

"Yes, Marle?"

"What did you talk about with my father? You told me that you would tell me."

"…I asked him, if I could marry you."

Marle gasped.

Crono smiled. "He told me that he could think of no better man than me to marry you."

Marle was silent.

Crono was nervous, but he did his best not to show it. "But what about you, Princess Nadia of Guardia? Will you marry me?"

Marle grasped his hands. "Crono, even if my father would have told you 'no,' I would have run away and married you."

Crono blushed.

"But do remember one thing."

"What's that?"

"I'm Marle. Except for formal reasons, I am always Marle."

"That shall be always easy to remember," Crono said, before the two shared a kiss.


End file.
